Unexpected Variables
by evil-step-sister
Summary: When the Potter family was attacked, the Wizarding World mourned their death and celebrated the defeat of the Dark Lord for weeks to come. But people would be left puzzling over the disappearance of the youngest Potter for years. It's too bad nobody thought to include the Winchesters into their equations.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: Spoilers up to Supernatural episode 619 "Mommy Dearest" and for all Harry Potter books**

**AN: **

**Changes for HP canon - James and Lily moved to America to hide instead of staying in England for greater safety. Also, manipulative!Dumbles, just because I said so.**

**Changes for SPN canon – Castiel never made a deal with Crowley. Therefore, Civil War in heaven much smaller and completely AU after the killing of Eve. **

**Timeline Notes – Since the actual date is unknown, going with the idea that Eve was killed at the end of September 2011. The dates for Harry Potter have been altered drastically. Harry was born in 2010 in this story instead of 1980. Potters were attacked on Oct. 31, 2011 and that is when our story starts.**

**Disclaimer - Goes for whole story: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter. Mearly using and manipulating the characters for my own amusement.**

* * *

Dean and Sam were, as per usual, driving cross country in Dean's '67 Chevy Impala, fondly referred to as Baby, with Dean's classic rock music blaring from the speakers and Sam trying in vain to tune it and Dean's off-key singing out. It was getting quite late and they were searching the smallish town they found themselves in for a cheap motel to stay for the night.

They were heading toward Bobby's house in Sioux Falls for a visit and hopefully a bit of a break from cases. After finally defeating Eve almost five weeks ago, the Winchesters had been traveling around, going after cases that seemed to be caused by leftover creations of the Mother of All. The brothers had just finished one where a small group of three Jefferson Starships – Sam mentally rolled his eyes at the name – had been stirring up trouble.

Sam sighed in relief as a motel finally came into view, when from off to the side, he saw a bright flash light up the night sky followed quickly by a large explosion of sound. Dean cursed and jerked the wheel to the side in surprise. He quickly pulled over and looked for where the explosion came from. After sharing a look with his brother, he turned the car around and headed toward the area.

It turned out to be a quaint housing area. Driving down the streets they could see children and their parents going from door to door, dressed in their Halloween costumes, begging for candy. It struck them as odd though. Nobody around was showing any interest in the fact that a house a few blocks away had just blown apart.

They finally found the source of the explosion on a dead end street with no other houses around it. They drove up to it slowly and looking around, saw no one else. No fire department, no police, no nosy neighbors, and no sirens signaling that they were on their way.

The Winchesters got out of the car and studied the house. Oddly enough, it wasn't on fire; just looked like a wrecking ball had been dropped through the roof. Sam started walking towards the front door when Dean put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait." He had his head cocked slightly, like he was listening. "Do you hear that?"

Sam listened as well, but heard nothing. Suddenly Dean took off running to the door, pulling his gun on the way. He slammed it open and continued inside. Sam readied his own gun and followed quickly, just in time to see his brother taking the stairs to the next floor. Now that he was closer, Sam could make out the sound of a baby crying from upstairs. He made to follow again, but stopped at the foot of the stairs, staring at the ground. He could just see the shape of a man lying on the floor.

He bent down next to the guy cautiously and felt for a pulse, finding none. Letting his brother take upstairs, Sam began slowly moving around the bottom floor of the house, searching for whatever could have done this. Finding nothing, he made his way back to the stairs in time to see Dean coming back down with what he assumed was the child in his arms.

"Find anything?" he asked.

Dean shook his head in response. "Nothing that could have done this. Found this guy though. He was in his crib. There was a body of a woman lying in front of it. Guessing it was his mother trying to keep whatever it was away from him. She didn't have any kind of weapon, but she did have this in her hand." He held out what looked like a polished wooden stick. "Don't know what she was planning to do with it."

Sam looked at it before going back to the man's body. Sure enough, he was holding a piece of wood tightly in his right hand. Sam picked it up and showed it to the elder. "I think it was supposed to do something. He had one as well."

"Huh. Whatever it was, it didn't work." Dean looked around and saw a light switch on the wall. Turning it on, he took a closer look at the scene while still trying to calm the little boy down.

Sam brought out the EMF detector and started scanning it around. Finding nothing he headed up the stairs to the nursery. Walking in he found the dead woman on the floor like Dean had said. Looking up he found most of the roof had been blown off by something, along with some of the far wall. He scanned the area quickly, once more finding nothing, and headed back down the stairs.

Dean was slowly rocking the now sniffling child while studying the wall. Seeing his brother he pointed to a series of scorch marks on both sides of the hallway. "See these?" he asked quietly. "It's like someone lit some firecrackers and set them loose in the hallway. There are more down at the end by the front door." Sam nodded and after another quick look around they headed back outside.

"We should call the cops. Don't know why anyone hasn't yet."

Dean handed over the now sleeping boy and pulled out his phone. "Yeah, I need to report an incident." Sam heard him say when someone answered. "There was an explosion at a house. I think someone was caught in it." As his older brother talked, Sam went back to the car and sat in the passenger's seat with the infant in his lap, still asleep. "Yeah, it's 2096 Sidewind Ct… No this isn't a Halloween joke!... What do you mean? I'm standing right in front of it!... I'm telling you this isn't a joke!... No wait – Son of a bitch!" Dean looked angrily at his phone before stuffing it in his pocket and making his way over.

"What happened?" Sam asked after he got in the driver's side.

"Damn operator thought I was lying. When I told him the address, he said there was no house here and wouldn't let me get a word in to say otherwise. Then he said if I called back he'd have me arrested and hung up on me! What the hell?!"

"Well, what are we gonna do with the kid?"

"Since the cops aren't coming here, we'll head to the station and hand him over. They can deal with him." He started the car and drove to do just that.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with these people?!" Dean exclaimed later that night. They had just been to the station and the cop in front had reacted just as the emergency operator had. They had walked in and said they had found the child in a destroyed house. The policewoman had then taken the child and asked where the location was in order to send someone to check the place out. After telling her the address, she had gained a strange look on her face and shoved the boy back into Dean's arms, saying there was no house or family living there and wouldn't hear otherwise or take the kid back. After once again getting threatened with arrest if he didn't leave, the brothers had gone back to the Impala.

Deciding to keep the boy with them for now and figure out what to do later, they started back to the motel they found earlier.

* * *

**AN - A random plot bunny that hit me this morning literally just as I woke up. It kept bothering me and growing bigger, so I gave in and decided to write it down. I don't have anything planned past the first couple chapters and actually, I doubt I ever will. So, if anyone likes the idea and wants to continue it, they have my blessing. Just please let me know first!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN – Warnings, disclaimer, etc. found in Chapter 1.**

When they got to the motel and checked out a room, they put the sleeping child on one of the beds before calling Bobby up. After telling him about the house and the police's reaction to it they described the two sticks and burn marks and asked if he knew anything about it. To their disappointment he couldn't think of anything in particular, and said he would look for something before ending the call.

Moments later there was the faint sound of wings and then Castiel was standing in the middle of the room.

"Cas!" Dean moved forward to greet him. "Bout time you showed up. Been ages since you last popped in."

"Hello Dean. Sam. Things have finally calmed somewhat in heaven so I felt I could come down to give you two an update on the situation."

"That's great!" said Sam from his place at the small table.

"Yes. It seems without the influence of Michael or threat of Lucifer, Raphael is less inclined to restart the apocalypse. There is still much fighting, however, so I cannot remain long." Castiel paused at a slight whimpering sound from the bed. Dean went over and picked up the boy, who was starting to wake. "Dean, why is there a child with you?"

The brothers once more told the story. "We didn't know what else to do with him, so we brought him with us. So, know why he apparently doesn't exist?"

Castiel was examining the sticks given to him by Sam. "Yes. These are not mere pieces of polished wood. They hold the essence of a supernatural creature and are referred to as wands."

Both brothers looked dumbfounded. "Wands. As in actual magic wands?" questioned Sam.

"Yes."

Dean snorted. "Since when do witches use wands? I thought they were all about rituals and hex bags?"

"These are not used by the witches you are familiar with, Dean. They are a group of humans that are naturally born with the ability to manipulate the energy of the Earth, which they call magic. The ones you hunt do not have this power and must make deals with demons to gain it."

The elder Winchester looked skeptical. "So you're saying they're not evil?"

"No. They are as evil as any other human. That is to say, depending on their choices, they have the potential for great evil, but an equal potential for great good."

"So why have we never heard of them before?" Sam this time, as always looking for more knowledge to soak up.

"They are generally not found in America, but they have large societies spread throughout Europe and Asia. They have their own government, education system, currency, and culture completely separate from what you know, kept very well hidden from the normal populace."

"This is insane," sighed Dean, looking at the child in his arms that had been studying the room's occupants quietly. "If the kid's parents were these non-evil witches –"

"Only the females are referred to as witches. The males are called wizards."

"Course they are." Dean shook his head. "Whatever. If the parents could use magic, does that mean he can, too?"

All three looked at the boy, who smiled and clapped at the attention. "More than likely. Though it has been known for a non-magical child to be born to a magical family. If you wish, I could check and tell you for sure."

"Yeah, sure."

Cas stepped forward and Dean moved the boy around in his arms so he was facing the angel. For awhile the man just stared at the infant before his brows furrowed slightly. He reached out a hand and laid it lightly on the kid's forehead and closed his eyes. A few moments passed before Castiel reopened his eyes and turned to Dean, looking troubled.

"What? Something wrong with him?"

"I'm not sure. He is indeed magical, but there is something tainting him."

Sam stood up and joined them by the bed. "What do you mean? Like a disease?"

"No. This cut on his head," Cas touched it lightly before quickly bringing his hand back again. "It was made by a dark curse. One meant to kill instantly. Why the boy survived, I do not know. The curse itself does not seem to have affected him in any way besides the mark, but under the cut is where I can sense the taint. It is not a part of the boy and does not seem to be troubling or influencing him at the moment. However, it is indeed evil and I cannot tell exactly what it is or how it could manifest in the future."

Both Winchesters looked worried at this and Dean shifted his hold on the boy. "Is there anything we could do to keep it that way? Or better yet, get it out of him?"

Castiel hesitated. "I believe I could remove it…"

"But…" Dean encouraged.

The angel sighed, "I'm not sure what effect it would have on the boy." He admitted. "To have one so young in contact with the amount of grace required to perform the extraction… it may be too much for his body and mind to handle. I could not say what kind of psychological or physical effects it would have. There is even the possibility that the shock of it could cause his death, but it is small." He stopped and gained a thoughtful look on his face. "Although, the presence of his magic should work in his favor by lessening the reaction to my grace. With it, I believe there should be no fear of death."

Sam rubbed a hand through his hair and looked over at his older brother. He knew Dean was going to have a hard time with this decision. No matter how much of a hard ass he acted on the outside, Dean always had a soft spot for children and magic or not, the little boy in his brother's arms was already growing on them both. They watched for a moment as the boy laughed while trying to grab hold of the stoic angel's tie.

"Alright." Dean finally said quietly. "Let's do it. Better to have the evil out of him and deal with the consequences than wait and see if it gets worse." Sam nodded slowly in agreement.

After getting everything prepared, including drawing a devil's trap around the kid incase whatever came out of him decided to get revenge, the two brothers stood at the edge of the room as Castiel approached the child. Cas kneeled on the floor in front of him and once more put his hand on the boy's head and closed his eyes. Nothing seemed to happen until the boy's face scrunched up unhappily. He then started to cry, getting louder and louder as the moments passed. A white light began to form between the angel's hand and the boy, then Cas slowly began pulling his hand back, the light stretching between them. It seemed to waver for a couple seconds, then broke away from the infant and gathered around Cas's hand. The angel opened his eyes and stood, studying it in a mixture of fascination and disgust.

Dean quickly went to the boy, who was still on the floor crying loudly, and picked him up followed by Sam just as fast. They both turned to Castiel and looked closer at the light in his hand, which was difficult with it being so bright. They were just able to make out a darker area in the middle of it which was moving in circles around the inside, like an animal circling its cage.

"What is it?" Sam was the first to ask.

"A soul." Cas replied shortly.

"Soul?!" the elder Winchester exclaimed in shock, with the younger looking just as surprised.

"A piece of one more accurately."

"How is that possible?" Sam stepped forward for a better look, while Dean stepped back and held the boy in a more protective grip.

"I do not know the specifics, but it is part of a very dark ritual developed by the magic users. An attempt to gain immortality that is used by only the most desperate. I have not heard of an instance of it in many years and have never witnessed the result of it myself. I must say, I wish I never had. It is disgusting; an abomination. It should never have been created." With that, the angel began closing his fist, the light diminishing and the soul trapped inside moving faster in seeming desperation to get out. When the fist closed completely, a quiet, shrill scream was heard and both brothers shuddered, while the child finally stopped his crying, sniffling and laying his head on Dean's shoulder.

Dean absently pat his back and turned to Castiel. "What about him? Can you tell if anything happened to him?"

The angel returned his attention to the infant, who looked up at his approach. Once more, the hand was put on his head, but after a short moment it was removed and Cas shook his head. "I cannot find anything out of the ordinary, though his eyes seemed to have been healed from their previous imperfections. He will no longer need glasses in the future. Now, I have remained –" Cas had turned his back to them and began walking away, but froze before spinning back around, with a look of pure shock painted on his face, and focusing on the child. More specifically his fist, which he was happily waving in the air.

The Winchesters watched with confusion as Castiel returned and gently grabbed the tiny hand, slowly unfolding the curled fingers. As soon as he did the boy began to fuss, looking off to the left of the angel and reaching out with both hands as if trying to grasp something out of reach.

"Cas?" Dean questioned softly.

"My… my wings. He had… grabbed the feathers of my wings." The angel answered slowly, seeming still in shock. "It seems he can… see through my vessel. To my true form. I believe we have found the effect of my grace." He stood still a few moments longer, watching the child who was now moving his head up and down, side to side as if following something. "I must go. I have been long enough from heaven. Call to me if the child reveals anything more."

With that and a soft sound of wings, Cas was gone. In Dean's arms, the boy giggled and clapped his hands together happily.

It was silent except for the child's babbles for a few minutes before Sam once more asked the obvious question, "What now?"

The elder sighed and switched the boy to his other hip. "Well, if the kid's magical and showing random supernatural abilities, we obviously can't just drop him off at an orphanage. We'll keep him with us for now. At least till we know what all he can do 'cause of Cas's grace. Maybe take him to Bobby's; more protection there."

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess. If we're keeping him though, we'll need to know more about what to expect. That means research."

Dean snorted. "Raised you didn't I? Think I know what to expect from a baby. You go ahead and do your research though."

Sam gave him a look. "I'm talking about his magic, Dean. I don't need to research how to take care of a kid."

"Yeah?" Dean smirked at him, "Bet you wouldn't last a day alone with him."

"Whatever. Jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Anyway, maybe we should go back to the house. You know, look around. See if we can find books or something that'll tell us what he's capable of."

"Good idea. We'll wait till morning though. Doubt anybody's gonna show up at the house tonight, seeing as the police don't even know it's there, and it's already past midnight. After we fish around for info we'll head back to Bobby's and figure out what to do from there."

Sam nodded and headed outside to call Bobby and tell him about the new developments while Dean attempted to get the infant to sleep.

**AN – Not sure if I said this last chapter, but all the current chapters I have for this story were written quickly in a few hours. Wanted to write as much as I could while I still had inspiration to. The time between updates is just me typing it up and doing some quick editing. So, pardon any grammar/spelling mistakes. XD**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN – Warnings, disclaimer, etc. found in Chapter 1.**

**I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you! I really wasn't expecting much of a response to this fic, but it makes me insanely happy that people are actually enjoying it. XD**

* * *

The next morning dawn bright and very early for the two Winchester brothers as the screaming of a baby woke them abruptly. Dean automatically sat up and picked up the boy from where he was previously sleeping on the bed beside him, while Sam pulled his blanket over his head and groaned. Dean laughed at him while trying to calm the crying infant.

After a couple minutes, Dean threw a pillow at his younger brother. "Hey! Make yourself useful and go to the store and get some stuff for him."

Sam sat up and glared at him. "Like what?"

"Grab a pen and make a list."

"A list? How much stuff could you need?"

"Diapers, wipes, milk, bottles – "

"Alright, fine! Let me find some paper. Why didn't you stop to get this crap yesterday?"

"Wasn't planning on having a kid by the end of the night, was I? And what store do you know is open near midnight. Well, that would sell baby stuff anyway."

Sam finally found something to write with and sat at the table. "What is it we need?"

As Dean rattled off a list he was moving around the room, trying to find something that could work as a temporary diaper till Sam got back from the store.

Sam read the list back to him once finished and Dean nodded in approval. "I think that's good for now. Hopefully we'll find some stuff we can use in the house when we go back to it." With that, Sam put on some mostly-clean clothes and headed out to the store.

When Sam returned, he snorted a laugh at the sight of his brother entertaining the boy, who was sitting in the middle of Dean's bed with one of the motel's hand towels wrapped around his bottom in a poor excuse for a diaper.

"Finally!" Dean exclaimed. "Little monster's been fussy as hell. Needs something to eat."

"Well, I got what you wanted." Sam said, as he started taking out items. Dean walked over and grabbed a diaper while Sam disappeared into the bathroom to shower.

After the boy had been fed and the brothers had gathered all their things, they stuck it all in the car and drove off to the destroyed house.

As they arrived, they immediately noticed that something was different. Since there was no crime scene tape or cops hanging around investigating the murder of the couple, it was obvious everyone still thought the property was just an empty lot. However, it was also obvious someone else had been there the previous night. In front of the path leading to the door, someone had placed a sign with a plaque that read:

_On this spot, on the night of 31 October 2011,_

_Lily and James Potter lost their lives._

_Their son, Harry, has been lost to us_

_and we can only hope he is safe._

_This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left_

_in its ruined state as a monument to the Potters_

_and as a reminder of the violence _

_that tore apart their family._

"So, your name's Harry Potter, huh?" Dean questioned the boy. Harry just looked at him in response.

"Whoever came and set this up did it quickly. Probably just missed us last night would be my guess," said Sam, looking at the sign as well. "Wonder if it was more magic users? They seem to know how the Potters were killed."

"Yeah. Says the house is invisible to… _muggles_. Think that's why the police didn't respond?"

"Probably. Let's go check it out. Hopefully there's still things we can use inside."

It turned out that the house had been left completely untouched, except for the removal of the two bodies. Harry seemed to recognize the place as home and was squirming in Dean's arms to be put down so he could walk. Dean complied and followed him into the living room, where he started looking around for anything useful. Sam went straight to the bookshelf on one wall and immediately pulled down a couple and flipped through them. Dean smiled at that, his brother would never change, then turned away to keep an eye on Harry.

A couple hours later they had collected a nice pile of things, the majority of which was made up of most of the books from the three bookshelves found throughout the house. From the kitchen they had gathered Harry's supplies - bottles, training cups, snack foods and such. Though most of the nursery was destroyed, they thankfully managed to salvage Harry's clothes from the nearly untouched dresser and a couple of his toys, including a stuffed black dog that made Harry babble happily at the sight of it. The boy quickly hugged the plushie and to the brothers' surprise, the toy stood up and ran a circle around the laughing baby, barking and wagging its tail, before returning to its seated position in front of him. Another surprise came when Harry grabbed a small, child-sized broom from near the back door and sat on it, only for it to start floating and slowly move around the room. Dean had gotten a laugh out of that; apparently some of the fairy tale stereotypes were true. The last things added to the pile were a few obviously magical items Sam wanted to mess with and a few pictures of Harry and his parents that Dean found around the house for the boy when he got older. Oh, did he mention that they _freakin' moved!_

While looking through what appeared to be a study, Dean had found a cabinet filled with various legal papers. Included in those was a copy of Harry's birth certificate. Apparently, his full name was Harry James Potter and he was born on July 31, 2010. In a place called _St. Mungo's_. He guessed it was a magical hospital and wondered if all magical places had odd names.

All of these things were put in a trunk Sam had found in one of the guest bedrooms that had the initials J.P. on the side. It looked pretty old and worn and had obviously belonged to Harry's father, but when the younger Winchester had opened it, he had found out that it was much bigger on the inside than it appeared and was perfect to carry all the stuff in. Especially since, after everything was stored away, the trunk hadn't gotten any heavier with all the extra items. Yes, the Winchesters were starting to realize that having magic had its perks.

Once the trunk was loaded into the backseat of the Impala, the brothers finally continued their journey to Sioux Falls, with a small addition sitting on Sam's lap, black dog clutched to his chest, and sadly waving goodbye to his old home.

* * *

On the night of October 31, as an old model car was driving around the corner on its way to the police station, there was a loud crack of displaced air, followed by a horrified yell from the man who had appeared out of nowhere to the sight of the destroyed house of his closest friends.

Despite his shock and flash of panic, Sirius Black quickly gathered himself and pulled his wand, hurrying through the doorway. He stopped and gave a sob at the sight of James, his best friend, lying lifeless at the foot of the stairwell. With quickly disappearing hope he head up to the next floor and into the nursery, only to feel another wave of grief at seeing beautiful Lily spread on the floor in front of little Harry's crib.

Crying openly now he made his way over to check on the child. If the sight of his two best friends, cold and unmoving, had grieved him so, it was the realization that his precious godson was nowhere to been seen that broke him.

When Professor Albus Dumbledore arrived at the previously hidden Potter home not too long after, it was to find Sirius kneeling on the floor of a destroyed nursery, next to the body of Lily Potter, facing an empty child's crib. He was perfectly still, not crying, not even blinking - seeming as lifeless as the woman next to him, with his wand lying forgotten on the floor.

Albus quickly approached him and tried to talk to him, snap him out of his grieved stupor. It wasn't until he mentioned one Peter Pettigrew and how he needed to be found and brought to justice that he showed signs of life. A wild, murderous light grew in his eyes, and quick as a flash, his wand was snatched up and he was out the door. Albus called out to him, trying to stop him and warning him against doing anything rash, but his words were unheeded. As soon as he passed the wards, Sirius Black disappeared with a pop to go hunting for a rat.

Albus sighed in irritation, but didn't bother to go after the grief crazed man. After a time studying the residue magic in the area, he determined that the Dark Lord had fired the killing curse at the young boy, who had somehow survived it. Instead it had backfired and destroyed the castor, but Albus knew Voldemort was not truly gone. He had to find the youngest Potter and fast. Harry was the only hope for the Wizarding World's future and had to be properly prepared to face his destiny.

However, even with all his knowledge and planning, Albus was never able to figure out where the boy had disappeared to. Too bad he never thought of simply checking with the local muggle police. After all, it had to have been a wizard to have taken the child. No simple muggle could have gotten past the wards he, himself had set up and into the house. Right?

Unfortunately for him, he never factored the Winchesters into his plans.

* * *

**AN – Oh, I hated doing that to poor Sirius! Even if it was short and without much detail. Honestly, I'm not sure where this one came from. Wasn't expecting to get past chapter 2. XD Hope you enjoy anyway. **


	4. Chapter 4

**AN – Warnings, disclaimer, etc. found in Chapter 1.**

* * *

When the Impala finally pulled up to Bobby's, both brothers quickly got out and breathed a sigh of relief. Spending hours in a car with a one year old that was missing his parents was not something they felt like repeating anytime soon. Almost as soon as they drove out of sight of the house, Harry had started realizing that he was leaving the place his Mummy and Daddy were supposed to be and was with two people he barely knew. It was heartbreaking for the brothers to hear him start asking for his parents, getting more insistent and upset when they never showed up. By the end of the drive he had cried himself to sleep, still clutching the stuffed black dog closely to chest.

The movement from exiting the car jostled the boy awake. "Mama?" was the first thing out of his mouth. Sam quickly handed him over to Dean as he saw Harry start to get teary eyed once more.

Dean sighed again and gently pat the child on the back as he made his way to the front porch of Bobby's old house. "No, little man. Your Mama's not here." Once he reached the door, Bobby opened it and let them all inside.

"So, that's the kid?"

"Yeah. His name's Harry. Harry, can you say 'hi' to Bobby?"

Harry watched the grumpy looking man for a moment, before he turned around and put his face in Dean's shoulder. The brothers chuckled while Bobby just grunted.

"Well, come sit down. Y'all eaten yet?"

* * *

As the days and weeks passed, Harry gradually became more used to his new home and guardians. He realized his parents weren't coming back anytime soon and asked about them less often.

It came as no surprise to any of them when Dean ended up being Harry's primary caretaker. The boy warmed up to Bobby soon enough and though he wouldn't admit it, the man enjoyed having a kid around once more. However, as soon as Harry showed signs of starting the waterworks, Bobby would suddenly have something extremely important to do and disappear for a couple hours.

Sam on the other hand genuinely wanted to help his brother with Harry's care. Problem was, he didn't know how. So, Dean showed his brother how to properly feed, change, and bath the boy. Sam eventually got the hang of it and often took care of Harry to give his brother a break, but he still sometimes got frustrated during Harry's tantrums or when he was being stubborn, so he left that part to Dean. The younger Winchester suddenly understood what Dean must have gone through with him while growing up and felt guilty for all the hard times he gave him, while gaining a new respect for his brother.

The books brought from Harry's old house were put to good use. Both Sam and Bobby dug into them immediately, trying to learn as much about this new world as possible in order to prepare themselves for when Harry became older. Dean, though, got a headache just looking at the stacks of books. So while his little brother and Bobby geeked out over the new information, Dean just focused on Harry and left them to it, knowing if they came across anything important they would tell him.

Which was how he learned about accidental magic and that when Harry got a bit older, he should start showing bursts of it. It wasn't something they were looking forward to, that's for sure. Who knows what the little monster would make happen? Well, as long as Baby was left out of it, Dean decided it wouldn't be too bad.

Shortly after that he learned about the magical schools. Apparently, Harry was going to be expected to attend one called Hogwarts - Really? Who names a school _Hogwarts_? – when he turned eleven. Another thing he wasn't much looking forward to.

Wait - when did they decide Harry was staying till he was eleven? He's not even two yet! For all they knew someone from the Wizarding World could show up tomorrow to take him someplace better for him to grow up. After all, they were hunters. Their life style was dangerous and not something a child should grow up in. It would be better if someone more suited to caring for Harry came to them and took him off their hands.

Well, that was what they told themselves. But just the thought of it set off a nasty feeling in Dean's gut.

Sam and Dean certainly got their break from cases after returning to Bobby's with Harry. For the first few weeks they didn't even contemplate taking one. After it was apparent that Harry was settling in well to his new environment, they began taking short, easy, solo ones every couple weeks to slowly get the boy used to having them occasionally disappear for a while. It was, surprisingly, Bobby who suggested they do it this way, knowing how the boys had reacted themselves to John disappearing for days on end with no warning. Dean had quickly voiced his support for the idea and to their satisfaction it worked well.

On Harry's second birthday, he ended up surprising Dean by hugging him after opening his presents and exclaiming loudly "Thank you, Daddy!"

At the look on his face both Bobby and Sam burst out laughing. Apparently, they had been trying to get the boy to call him that for awhile now. In retaliation Dean managed to convince him to call Bobby "Grandpa" and Sam "Mama". Sam managed to squash the Mama thing surprisingly quickly, but to Bobby's reluctance and Dean's not-so-secret enjoyment, the Grandpa and Daddy names stuck. The younger Winchester just returned to being Harry's Sammy.

Castiel also made fairly regular visits during this time. Each time brought the news that the Civil War was slowly - very slowly - coming to a tension filled standstill. The angel said he expected it to be many years yet before the fighting completely stopped and there was peace once more, but that each day showed they were coming closer to that goal.

Harry seemed to greatly enjoy these visits as well. Probably for the soul reason that he was allowed to mess with the angel's "pretty wings." Castiel didn't seem to mind this over much. Each time the boy ran up to him to pet his feathers, he seemed surprised and fascinated all over again by the fact Harry was able to see and touch them.

Despite Castiel's assumption that Harry would show more effects of his contact with the angel's grace, the brothers hadn't seen any sign of Harry being able to do more. Though, the boy hadn't been far from Bobby's house, so there hadn't been much opportunity for experimentation with it. Sam suggested that Harry's ability to learn and remember things quickly could be an effect and Castiel agreed it could be, but that there was also a possibility Harry was just born with that talent.

It wasn't until Harry was two-and-a-half that things once more took a turn for the dramatic. But that's only to be expected when you live with the Winchesters.

* * *

**AN: Alright another chapter! I'm surprisingly still working on this fic (wasn't expecting to XD), but this bunny keeps growing! I have four other chapters written. Problem is they're not in order ^^; Got stuff for later in the fic, now I need chapters for in between.**

**I hate filler chapters, but it was necessary and I don't think I have to write in their day-to-day lives (that would get boring) so it skips back and forth through the timeline some. Next chapter should straighten it back out for a bit though. **

**Hope you enjoy! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN – Warnings, disclaimers, etc. found in Chapter 1.**

**Adding a NEW WARNING for this chapter: SPOILERS for episode 812 "As Time Goes By" and parts after. I wasn't going to add anything from the new season, but this was a big thing for the Winchesters and wouldn't have been affected by my changes to canon, so I felt it should be added.**

* * *

"Harry!" Dean called out. He was searching around Bobby's house for where the runt had gone off to. Dean had left him with Sam while he was working on his baby, but now neither were anywhere to be seen. Bobby was currently out of the house, most likely at Sheriff Mill's. He'd been going by there more often and the brothers were pretty sure there was a thing going on between the two. Bobby denied it of course, but it didn't stop the Winchesters from poking a little fun at him for it.

Dean finally located the two in the second guest bedroom/storage space where Sam, and occasionally Harry, slept. Harry was sitting on the younger brother's lap while he searched on the computer for possible cases in the area.

"There y'all are. Thought you said you were taking him out front to ride on that stick of his."

Sam looked up from his laptop. "We did, but he got bored of it and started trying to fly off into the salvage yard, so I brought him back inside."

Dean nodded, "Find anything that looks like us?"

"Nothing. Unless you count a guy –"

Sam was cut off by a loud bang as the door to the closet flew open and hit the wall. Shortly after, a man tumbled through the doorway and landed on the floor. The Winchesters reacted immediately. Sam stood up, holding tight to Harry as the boy looked around in confusion, and went straight to the gun lying on his bedside table. Angling his body so he could better protect Harry if attacked, he readied the weapon in his hand as his older brother pulled his own.

The unknown man quickly got up off the floor. "Which of you is John Winchester?" he asked urgently. The other two just stared at him in surprised confusion. "Please, time is of the essence. Which of you is John Winchester?"

Sam snapped out of it first, "Uh, neither."

The man looked upset by this answer. "That's impossible. That's absolutely… What did I do wrong?"

"Who the hell are you, mister?" Dean demanded, wanting some answers.

"Not now. I'm thinking."

This obviously wasn't what Dean wanted to hear. He moved forward and grabbed the man, pinning him to the wall with his arm. Harry made a small sound at this and the man's eyes flickered to him before quickly returning to the one holding him.

"Please. I can assure you, there's no need for violence. One of you must know John Winchester," the man tried again.

Sam tightened his grip on Harry and glared at him, "I'll tell you what. When one of us falls out of your closet, then you can ask the questions."

The guy seemed to figure out he wasn't going to get what he wanted. "Yes. My apologies." He looked pointedly at the arm across his chest. "Is it absolutely essential, sir, that you keep your hands on me?"

Dean glanced back at Sam and Harry, then gave the man a warning look before letting him drop down. The man caught himself and smoothed out his suit.

"Thank you." He straightened up, as if gathering courage. "Gentlemen, in the absence of any and all other explanations, I'm afraid this has been a marvelous, tragic misunderstanding. I'll be on my way."

He took a step as if to go out into the hallway, but Dean moved forward and blocked his path. "That's not happening." Then he snatched a pair of handcuffs from Sam's travel duffel.

Sam, after putting Harry down in a corner of the room and making sure he knew to stay out of sight, went to the others and grabbed the man from behind.

"You're not going anywhere, 007, till we get some answers," Dean stated and moved to handcuff the guy to the lone chair in the room. In a quick, smooth motion, the man slipped from Sam's hold and out from in between the brothers. He then managed to put the cuffs on both Winchesters and hook it to the chair before darting out the room.

They both looked after him in disbelief. "How did he do that? You've gotta be kidding me!" Dean pulled at the cuff a bit, then called out, "Harry!" The little boy hurried over. "Grab Sam's bag from over there. See it? The one by the door. Can you bring it here?"

The boy nodded and grabbed the heavy duffel, then struggled to drag it across the floor within reach of the brothers. Once he did, Sam fished out his lock pick and made quick work of the cuffs. As soon as he was free, Dean pulled his gun once more and ran after the intruder.

A short time later, Sam heard the front door open and a muffled "sit down" from what he guessed was the living room. Not wanting to leave Harry alone in the room, he reluctantly picked him up and went down the stairs to join his brother.

They arrived in time to hear a hiss coming from the man, who was seated in the middle of the room in a chair from the kitchen, as Dean made a cut on his forearm with a silver knife.

Sam again settled Harry in a corner of the room, partially hidden by the sofa, and tossed his brother a flask of holy water. The boy remained quiet and only watched the proceedings with curious eyes. Dean splashed the man in the face with the flask's contents.

"And there with the holy water," he laughed.

"He's clean," Dean announced.

"I could have told you that," the man muttered as he pulled down his sleeve over the cut.

"Yeah, well, you can start by telling us everything before I beat it out of you."

The man sent him an unimpressed look, "I'm quite certain this is all beyond your understanding, my alpha-male-monkey friend. And violence will not help you comprehend this any easier."

The elder brother glared at him and grabbed him by his jacket, pointing his gun in his face. "Let me tell you what I understand! Some asshat pops out of my closet asking about my dad and smashes up my ride! So why am I not getting violent, again?"

The man's face changed into one of shock, "John Winchester is your father?"

Before the brothers have a chance to respond, a loud rattling sound came from upstairs. The man stood up, looking at the ceiling. "What is that?" he questioned, before a look of horrified realization crossed his features. "Oh no."

"What?" Sam demanded. A bang, louder than the one from when the man appeared, is heard, followed by the sound of heels clicking along the wooden floor.

"Run!" but despite his own words, the man merely stayed frozen and followed the sound of the footsteps with fearful eyes until a woman was seen at the top of the stairs.

"Henry," the woman laughed and made her way down the steps. "Silly man, you forgot to lock the door. But then, spells never were your best subject, were they? Why don't you be a doll and give me what I want, and I promise to kill you and your friends here quickly."

"You know I can't do that."

"You're not a fighter, Henry."

As she made it to the bottom, Harry peeked out from his spot behind the couch. With one look at the woman he began crying loudly, covering his eyes and trying to push himself further into the wall, screaming out, "No no! Bad! NO!"

Dean raised his gun and Sam moved toward Harry, but the woman waved her arm and both were sent flying into the side wall, causing Harry to cry even louder. Henry tried to move, but was sent flying also, the woman keeping her hand raised and him pinned to the far wall.

He watched her approach him from his stuck position. "Josie, I know you're still in there. You must fight this," he said desperately.

The woman only laughed. "I'm afraid Josie's indisposed, pet. It looks like it's just you and me."

As she got close to him, Dean came up behind her and stabbed her in the back with the demon blade. Her eyes widened in shock and she dropped to her knees. Light began flashing from within her as she curled in on herself and screamed in pain. But the light slowly diminished and the brothers stared at her in shock.

Breathing heavily, she glared hatefully at Dean. "Well, that is no way to treat a lady."

While she was down, Sam grabbed Henry by the arm and pulled him outside to the Impala. Dean picked up a still crying Harry, only a step behind them. Putting Harry in the back with Sam, Dean jumped in the driver's seat and slammed on the gas, leaving the property just as the demon emerged from the house.

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**AN – Chapter 5! *does a happy dance* XD I know this pretty much goes exactly with the episode. I don't really like doing that, but I don't see how the characters reactions would differ from canon at this point, so most of the dialogue at least came directly from it. I split this into more than one part simply to keep my chapter lengths pretty consistent. Next part should diverge from the canon events somewhat. Hope you enjoy!**

***I'm so sorry this took so long to get out, but its finals time and the past few weeks have been tests and papers due up the wahzoo. Thanks for those who have waited for it and all of you who have reviewed and followed this story since the last chapter! I love you all!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN – Warnings, disclaimer, etc. found in Chapters 1 & 5**

* * *

Dean drove until they were well out of the small town. Harry had stopped crying shortly after leaving the demon behind, but was still clinging to Sam in the backseat, face buried in his shoulder and sniffling occasionally.

"Alright, Bobby. We'll call later when we learn more." Dean ended the call to Bobby after filling him in. The old hunter had been less than pleased to learn he had to avoid his house till they were sure the demon was no longer there. He, of course, understood though and assured he'd stay low until it was over or they needed backup.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Dean frowned a bit at the sight of the young boy. What had made him react so harshly to the sight of the demon? Harry had good reason to be frightened of her, but to have recognized that danger so quickly? He would have to discuss this with Sam later and maybe Cas if he showed up. Dean turned his attention back to the road for a moment, then flicked his eyes toward the man sitting in the passenger seat. Henry had his eyes closed tightly, face pale and sweating, and had a death hold on the door handle. The older hunter quickly pulled to the side of the road. No way was he letting the man be sick in his baby.

Henry opened the door as soon as the car stopped, took a few steps away, and promptly lost the contents of his stomach. Sam and Dean followed him out. Harry looked up at the movement and reached out to Dean when he caught sight of him. The elder brother took him and the boy again put his head down, arms tightly wound around Dean's neck.

Sam stepped closer to Henry. "Are you okay?" he asked, slightly concerned.

"Yes, I will be," he answered and vomited once more. Standing up, he wiped his mouth with a handkerchief from his pocket. "It's just that all the adventures I enjoy are usually of the literary nature."

Dean spoke up from where he was patting Harry on the back, who seemed to be falling asleep. "Yeah, well, now that you're done blowing chucks, you wanna tell us who Betty Crocker was?"

"Abaddon. She's a demon."

Sam rolled his eyes, "No kidding. Where's she from?"

"Where'd you come from?" Dean adds.

Henry looks slightly reluctant, but answers anyway, "She's from hell. I'm from Normal, Illinois. 1958."

Sam looked surprised and Dean let out a laugh. He quieted though, when Harry stirred.

"Yeah, right." Dean looked between his brother, who was watching the other man as though he were a puzzle, and Henry, who stared silently back. "Seriously?" he asked, almost whined.

"Dudes time traveling through bedroom closets? That's what we've come to?"

Henry gave an exasperated sigh, "If you could just take me to John, we could clear this all up, I'm sure."

Dean went back to glaring at the man, "I've told you, that's not gonna happen."

"Why not?"

"Because he's dead!" Dean stated bluntly, having finally lost his patience.

There was a long silence after this, Henry looking deeply affected by the news.

"No." He turned away from the brothers with a hand over his mouth.

Sam shot a worried look towards Dean. "What's it to you?"

The man was quiet for a moment. "Everything." He turned back to them. "I'm his father."

Both brothers were silent, shock coursing through them and freezing them in place.

"Well, shit." Dean moved back toward the Impala, tossing Sam the keys and getting in the passenger seat.

* * *

It was a couple hours later that they stopped at a small town diner for lunch. The Winchesters were standing at the counter, waiting for their food to come. Harry was now awake and standing between them, one hand holding tightly to Sam's pants as he looked back at Henry, who was sitting at a table, with curious eyes.

"Driver's license says he's Henry Winchester from Normal, Illinois," Sam was saying. "He knows Dad's birthday, the exact place where he was born. Dude... that's our grandfather."

Dean, however, wasn't looking happy at the news. "I'm just saying, before we break out the warm and toasties, let's not forget that, uh, H.G. Wells over there left Dad high and dry when he was a kid."

"But maybe he didn't run out on Dad. I mean, not on purpose. Maybe he time traveled here and, I don't know, got stuck."

Dean wasn't convinced. "Yeah, well, either way, Dad hated the son of a bitch."

"And Dad made up for that how? By being father of the year?"

Just then, the waitress finally came up to them and handed over their food. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Dean told her, not even sparing her a glance. "Look, Dad had his issues, okay, but he was always there for us." Both brothers picked up a tray and started towards Henry, Harry following behind. "I freaking hate time travel man."

They got to the table and set the food down, Sam and Dean sitting across from Henry with Harry in the seat furthest from him.

"How you doing?" Sam asked his newly discovered kin.

"I'll be fine. After all, despite everything... I've just met my grandsons, haven't I? And my… great-grandson?" He looked toward Sam and Dean for conformation, but none is given.

Not deterred, he held his hand out to Sam. "Henry Winchester." Sam took it and gave a slight shake. "It's a pleasure."

"Sam," he replied.

Henry gave him a thankful smile. "Hello, Sam." He then held out his hand to Dean, but the elder brother merely looked at it.

"Dinner." He said, putting one of the food baskets in front of the other man and then turned his attention to tearing apart Harry's chicken strips for the boy to eat.

"This is Dean," Sam said in his stead. "And Harry."

Henry pulled his hand back awkwardly. "Right."

Finished with Harry's food, Dean looked back to Henry. "Well, this has been touching. How about we figure out how to clean up your mess, huh?"

Ignoring the implied insult, Henry nodded. "Abaddon. Yes, she must be stopped." He flicked a glace toward Harry, who just continued to eat, somehow sensing this wouldn't be a good time to speak up. "However, perhaps this would be a conversation best had away from young ears."

Dean straightened a bit and narrowed his eyes. "Harry's fine."

Henry looked at him in disbelief. "It is against regulations for a child to - "

"I said he's fine. You just let me and Sam worry about him. Now, how come the bit - she didn't die when I stabbed her?" Dean questioned, checking his language at a look from Sam.

Henry looked frustrated at the dismissal of some supposed rule, but gave in as both brothers continued to look at him, waiting for an answer. "Because demons can't be killed by run-of-the-mill cutlery. At the very least, you'd need an ancient demon-killing knife of the Kurds."

Dean pulled Ruby's knife partway out of his inside jacket pocket. "That's what this is."

Henry looked at it in surprise. "Where did you get that?"

Dean shoved the knife back in the pocket. "Demon gave it to me." He shook his head with a bitter smile. "We've been around this block so many times."

Sam swallowed his food, "Now, that portal or whatever it was you came through... is it still open?"

"I highly doubt it." Henry looked at the younger Winchester curiously. "Why?"

"I'm just thinking if we can't kill this Abaddon - "

"- Maybe we can shove her back where she came from." Dean finished, catching on. He looked back to Henry, "How did you do it?"

"It's a blood sigil. Blood leads to blood." He gained a saddened look. "Or their next of kin."

"But Abaddon came through it also, right?" Sam pointed out. "So you can create this blood sigil again?"

Henry nodded. "My blood, an angel feather, tears of a dragon, a pinch of the sands of time," he listed. "I- I would need those and... at least a week for my soul to recharge, but, yes, it's possible."

The younger Winchester brother looked surprised at that and leaned forward eagerly. "You tapped the power of your soul to get here? I thought only angels could do that."

Henry gave a confused frown at that. "You should know this. What level are you two?"

"What level?" Dean repeated.

"Level of knowledge." Henry replied, as if it should be obvious. "You're Men of Letters, correct?"

The brothers shared a confused look then turned back to their grandfather.

"I'm a little rusty on my boy bands. Men of what?"

"Men of Letters." Henry said again, sounding a little concerned. "Like your father, who taught you our ways."

"Our father taught us how to be hunters." Sam corrected.

Henry laughed for a moment, then stopped when he realized they were serious. "You're not. Are you? Hunters?" He said in disbelief. "Well, hunters are... hunters are apes. You're supposed to- you're legacies."

"Legacies of what?" Dean asked for them both.

"Daddy? Can I have more ketchup?" Harry spoke up quietly.

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**AN – Another chapter! Once again, I cut it here to keep my chapters about the same length. I'm thinking the episode is going to be another two chapters long, maybe three. I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter (seriously, three months?!) and want to say a really big THANK YOU! to all of you who have waited for it and reviewed, followed, favorited so far. **

**I wanted to get this out before I begin my next semester of college. Unfortunately, I can't say when the next chapter will come. Classes could either help (giving me work to procrastinate = writing) or hinder (eventually those things must be done) my progress. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and reviews are appreciated. **


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